Night We Met – Chapter 1 – blackrose17

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8 Minutes

From the age that he was old enough to understand, Evan knew that his parents didn’t love him, and the only reason they didn’t give him up was that they needed him around in case something should ever happen to their dear Daniel. Don’t get Evan wrong, he loves his big brother something fierce, and he hates the idea of him getting sick, but it hurts to know that his parents will never love him. He once got hurt, and his parents doted on him when his siblings were around and other people, but when they were alone, it was a different story.

“Oh, Evan, you need to be more careful; you can’t help your brother if you hurt yourself. You need to think of Daniel and stop being so selfish.” Margaret hissed.

“I understand, Mother,” Evan whispered as he picked at his blanket. He refused to cry in front of her; crying never did anything, only making his mother more upset with him.

The only reason he was able to survive for so long with his parents was because of Maddie and Daniel, and then Maddie left for college with her boyfriend Doug, someone that he had a bad feeling about. Doug wasn’t what he seemed to be, but Maddie wouldn’t listen to him.

Then Daniel left for college, and his parents were distraught over the news. They were gone almost every week visiting Daniel to the point that his brother threatened to change schools and not tell them where he had gone.

He went unnoticed, so Evan tried to hurt himself again; it worked once, it might work again. Margaret lost it on him and locked him in the closet.

He thought that he had Maddie convinced to come with him, to leave behind Doug, and they could join Daniel in New York, but instead, she left him the keys to her jeep and offered him freedom. He left and vowed never to return.

+*****+

Eddie never expected to be a father at a young age or to marry a woman he wasn’t sure he loved, but here he was. A career in the military is something he had thought about, and it seemed the only way to support his family. When Christopher, his sunshine, his world, was diagnosed with CP, re-upping for another tour was the only way that Eddie could think of making money.

Shannon hadn’t liked that, and their already tense marriage became screaming matches that ended in slamming doors when Eddie was stateside.

Eddie tried to make it work for his son because he was taught to be the man of the house.

Things changed when he got injured. Shannon made it clear that she couldn’t handle looking after him and their son at the same time and that it was Eddie’s turn to care for Christopher.

“I need a break, Eddie. I can’t look after you and Christopher!” She shouted at him.

“Shannon, I am recovering from being shot! I’m sorry that I can’t care for our son. I would love to be able to hold Christopher, but I can’t. I need your help.” Eddie hated admitting weakness of any kind, but it was true that he needed help.

That help from Shannon never came; instead, he got left a note that said Shannon needed time and a little boy that didn’t understand why his mom wasn’t around.

LA was a fresh start, where his Abuela and Tia Pepa could offer him the help that his parents refused to give him. They wanted his son and not him. He refused to let them get their hands on his son and dim his son’s light.

+*****+

Sleep was a cruel mistress as she once again escaped Buck’s grasp, not that he minded at all as he rolled on his side to look at his sleeping partner, taking in the beauty that was Eddie. His heart filled with unbelievable fondness as he took in Eddie’s steady breathing, the slightly parting of his lips. The way that one untamed strand of hair, that one that he had secretly nicknamed the slut strand, fell into his face. The moonlight that managed to escape through their blinds shone on Eddie’s golden skin, making him glow. Buck never got tired of looking at his boyfriend.

“I can feel you watching me,” Eddie mumbled as he cracked his eyes open.

Grinning Buck closed the distance between them and kissed him softly, not at all caring about either of their morning breath. “One of my favorite actives.” At the sight of Eddie’s sleep-filled grin, Buck couldn’t help but kiss him again. “Who would have thought that I would have met the love of my life all those years ago on my last week of work at that bar?”

Neither man had expected when they met almost a year ago that they would be here sharing a bed and that Buck would help raise Christopher.

Buck sighed as he worked the bar; he couldn’t wait until he could leave this behind. Oh, don’t get him wrong, it wasn’t all that bad, he liked his co-workers, and the people could be nice, but some thought that they could get away with breaking the law. Like the current asshole trying to slip a drug into the pretty woman who had been blowing him off all night.

Buck was tall, and he had always been fit, but being a firefighter in training had started to build up his muscles. He wrapped a hand around the assholes wrist. “I don’t think so, asshole. Hey Derek, we got a one for you to deal with,” Buck called out to the bouncer. The man was massive, dwarfing the jerk that Buck had caught. Once he was certain that Derek had a hold of him, Buck pulled out his phone and took a photo. “This photo of you will be passed around to every bar around here. My friend will now be escorting you here out.”

“Not many would have spotted that.” A low husky voice caught Buck’s attention. Blue eyes met honey brown, and for a moment, nothing existed but them. Buck hadn’t missed him from the moment he had sat down; he had been sneaking looks at him.

“Thanks. It’s my job to make sure that no one gets hurt on my watch. Can I get you anything?” Buck asked, managing to bite back the urge to add on something flirty like me on my knees. He was trying to change; he thinks he has finally found a place where he can put down roots, somewhere he can make the kind of life he has been looking for since he left home.

“Another beer when you have the time.” He waved his bottle in front of Buck.

“Coming right up, I’m Evan Buckley, but everyone calls me Buck.”

“Eddie Diaz. So, Buck, besides being a knight in shining armour, what else are you?” Eddie asked before taking a long sip of his fresh beer.

Never before in his life had Buck been so jealous of a bottle of beer; he wanted to be the one to touch those lips. “I’m a soon-to-be firefighter. This is my last week here before I get assigned my station.”

Eddie hadn’t expected this when his Abuela and Tia had finally convinced him to take a night off so that they could look after Christopher. He had planned on a few beers and then head home, but now his plans were ruined by this blond man in front of him. Discovering that he was gay hadn’t been the easiest thing, especially not the way he was raised, which played a role in why he chose LA to start a new life with his son.

“What are you thinking about?” Eddie’s voice pulled Buck out of his thoughts.

“The night we met, it changed my life. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I didn’t have you, Christopher, Abuela and Tia Pepa in it.”

Eddie made a face, “You might have ended up dating that Abby woman. I didn’t like her or how she went about getting your phone number.”

Buck had to agree with Eddie there; he at first didn’t see the harm in talking to Abby until Eddie helped him to see that Abby had broken the law in order to get Buck’s phone number. “I also wouldn’t have had the courage to report Dr. Welles.” Buck felt sick at the name.

Now awake, Eddie cupped Buck’s cheek in his hands, “Yes, you would have. What that woman tried to do to you was sexual assault, and the fact that your teammates turned it into a joke is still something I plan on talking to them about. You are stronger than you think, Evan Buckley.”

“I love you.” Buck leaned into Eddie’s touch.

“I love you too.” Eddie pressed his lips against Buck’s. Once they parted, Eddie rubbed Buck’s cheeks, “I was thinking maybe Christopher and I could meet them soon. You seem to trust them, and I do like Athena.” Athena had been the one Buck talked to about Welles. Eddie was impressed with the woman.

“Only when you are ready. I won’t rush you into anything you aren’t ready for.” Buck wanted to show Eddie and Christopher off to his firefam. He understood why Eddie was so careful.

“No, I think I am ready, and you mentioned that Hen has a son around Christopher’s age who I think would be good for Chris to get to know since he is soon going to have two firefighter dads.” Eddie knows how much Buck wants them to meet his team.

“Alright, next 118 BBQ, you and Christopher will come with me to meet them.” Buck couldn’t wait to show off his boyfriend and the sunshine that is Christopher.

“Someday I plan on marrying you, Evan Buckley,” Eddie whispered. The night he had met Buck the next morning he phoned his lawyers and told them to file the divorce papers with Shannon, the divorce papers that Shannon still hasn’t signed and he was done waiting he was going to marry Buck his lawyers had already gotten approval to go ahead and have them signed in absentia and he was going to tell them to go ahead and process them. He and Shannon should never have been married; it was time to free both of them.